Xeno-Ethics questions

from GalCiv2 Forums
Okay since I havent seen a post on this figured Id make one.

What precicely does each ethical philosophy net you?

Neutrality is the most obvious, free terraforming as well as a couple of nifty non military techs (more trade and a nonfuncioning research center (pre-beta not working at least) ) but they do not get, so far as I can tell, any weapon/defensive techs which the manual says they get.

Also, what exactly is the point of being good ?. Especially since neutral is so good and you can make evil cononization decisions when you need to and just pay the 2500 bcs when you research xeno ethics.

Also what buildings do good civs get and what do they do (havent played as good yet)?
8,453 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't know why they chose set amounts for a switch from your trend. I would think if you made all evil choices, the closer you got to total evil, the more it would cost to choose neutral. but it don't matter how nasty you are as long as you have a mere 2500. It wpuld make more sence to me to have it cost 2500 + 10 bc for each tick on the slider.

But that brings up the other oddity (left over from cg1). Good choices (usually) move the slider a lot less than the evil choice offered at the same time.
1. we don't deal with pirates (1 tick towards good)
2. do it covertly +5 star ship (neutral, no movement)
3. get what you can no matter what +30 starship (30 ticks towrds evil)

"1" should get you at least as many ticks towards good as the evil choice does towards evil. Otherwise your choices are not balanced.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe being evil is so appealing that the consequences have to be more dire to discourage you, i.e. One evil choice weighs more heavily or does more harm than five good choices do good. Seems to me that in a more realistic sense, most of the game's good choices are in fact neutral and most of the neutral choices are in fact mildly evil.

I don't think neutrality will be worth picking until it's fully implemented.

In terms of what you're supposed to get, it's documented in the alignment selection screen.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Good: Better relations with good and neutral civs, defense techs, people more likely to surrender to you.
Neutral: Better trade, best research improvement, get money from other neutral (or maybe all) civ's tourism money, free instan terraforming.
Evil: weapon techs, 1 bc for every turn a trade route that isn't yours goes through your territory. everyone hates/doesn't trust you.

This is just some of the bonuses (and disadvantages) you get as of 1.1b3
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If you choose to be good you get a new technology called Telepahtic Defense. In every ship you have telepaths that intercept missles. They can't intercept mass drivers or lasers, but all your ships have some protection against missles. When your good you can actually use greater diplomacy skills, and free terraforming isn't all that great when I can just buy it. I normally have like 20,000bc during my games...
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Good has about 4 defence techs all capable of blocking any psonic tech. Diplomacy bonus rules, as does the fact that good gangs up on evil, and I've had races I barely know tell me "Yeah, we're going to help you fight the Drengin" and join a war.

I think evil is probably the weakest, but neutral will trump good when it gets those weapon and defence techs.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well sure you can just buy the orbital terraformer but you can get xeno-ethics early-mid game and its a relatively low tech and thus easy to research. Besides to get the orbital terraformer you have to get up to terraforming (which is kinda expensive research-wise) AND beat the computer to it AND use up valubale real estate to build it AND put it on an inner world unless you want to run the risk of the computer taking it. It is also very surprising how much difference free terraforming can make. One time I had a class 8 planet turn into a class 30 when I colonized it. Now thats return on your investment

My main question is whats so good about any non neutral alignment? Ive played evil and while the no mercy invasion center is quite nice (and the mind control center since it upgrades your income on one planet by 100% O_O) and the weapons are spiffy (if expensive, course the nano ripper is about the same price and only a smidge less damage) I dont see a compelling reson to be evil. Dont even get me started on good O_o.

Heh as far as the 2500 Bcs thing I refer to that as the "bastard tax"
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Neutral isn't that good really. Terraforming becomes moot when you get the orbital terraformer wonder. Neutrality research centre is only slightly better than discovery sphere, 22 vs 20 rp. 3 trade routes won't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.

Evil gets you kickass weapons that will take a long time for "normal" techs to catch up. Also evil colonisation choices give you lots of loot. Haven't had the fundies or I-league appear.

Never tried good.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The Neutrality reasearch is nice though since it takes much less time to research it hen it does to research discovery sphere. I'm glad they finally implamented it.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe I read it wrong but in one of my games where I leaned toward good, chosing Evil would have costed 10,000.
I've never been evil so I can't say which is better.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I tried evil on my first game. Having no starbase upgrade costs was great.

It does strike me as odd that the best way to conquer in a 'good' way (by influence) is to declare your race as the scum of the galaxy. I've been good lately, but those influence bases are expensive & it's tough work to get a planet to swicth sides.

Of course maybe it IS more evil to pump out subliminal messages than to go for blood.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I lost my CD i have my serial number tho how can i download the game please email me
shawnwithers@charter.net
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Please quit spamming every thread with your request.  Use support@stardock.com to help you.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
That extra 2 percent of the NLC, combined with its lower cost and earlier implimentation really adds up. 10 of them net a 20% increase over 10 Discovery Spheres, and its a heck of a lot cheaper. Add that to the 20% of a tech society, 20% of the Super Computers, and a planet dedicated mostly to NLC research with the Tech Center (which doubles that planets research output), and the techs just fly in. If you choose the planet with the highest research bonus tiles you can really get things going. My reaearch output at 15%, when I am concentrating on military or social building, is still higher than most of the others highest outputs. At 90% theirs is laughable.

The best evil weapons don't hold a candle to the black hole missles and mass drivers, or the doom ray.
And with all that extra research power it is also easy to get zero point armor and the other high tech defenses, not to mention the best in miniturization, advanced hulls, and logistics.

I usually win because I can out research all the others, and that is mainly due to the NLC's. If I don't simply blast them to bits with a 10th the number of ships, they are too afraid of me to make a move on me.